I hate Karma

[grunge782]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

I just got a recto from CL and thought it was all good. The red and orange channel work perfectly thank god. However, when I was testing the clean channel originally and thought there was a crackling noise, but it went away when I plugged in a new cord. Now I know it wasn't because of the cord but because I stopped adjusting it.

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. THEN i messed with the bass and it cuts out right before I max it and there is zero bass.

Are Mesa warranties transferable? If so, who do I talk to/go to?

 

[ESP123]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

No sir.....not a good idea

 

[Melodyman]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

I just got a recto from CL and thought it was all good. The red and orange channel work perfectly thank god. However, when I was testing the clean channel originally and thought there was a crackling noise, but it went away when I plugged in a new cord. Now I know it wasn't because of the cord but because I stopped adjusting it.

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. THEN i messed with the bass and it cuts out right before I max it and there is zero bass.

Are Mesa warranties transferable? If so, who do I talk to/go to?

- Download the manual, look at the part numbers for the pots that aren't working right.

- Call Mesa and order new pots

- Solder them in

 

[grunge782]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

I just got a recto from CL and thought it was all good. The red and orange channel work perfectly thank god. However, when I was testing the clean channel originally and thought there was a crackling noise, but it went away when I plugged in a new cord. Now I know it wasn't because of the cord but because I stopped adjusting it.

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. THEN i messed with the bass and it cuts out right before I max it and there is zero bass.

Are Mesa warranties transferable? If so, who do I talk to/go to?

- Download the manual, look at the part numbers for the pots that aren't working right.

- Call Mesa and order new pots

- Solder them in

Well, I would like to do that but I'm not sure. Could both the Bass and Treble pot go bad and have the same problem or could it be something wrong with the actual circuit?

 

[Melodyman]

Well, I would like to do that but I'm not sure. Could both the Bass and Treble pot go bad and have the same problem or could it be something wrong with the actual circuit?

Mesa's pots have been known to have these issues on occasion. The volume pot on my old 3 channel Dual Rec's clean channel would cut out/get quieter at a certain spot in the range, and it was very frustrating. Couldn't believe the difference in volume I could achieve after the pot was replaced. Same type of deal with any other type of pot that causes issues at a specific spot in the range (not just the normal tonal shifts one would expect with Mesa's tone stack designs), worth checking into at least.

It's a good problem to have (if you're going to have any at all) because the pots are cheap and wired with flying leads to the chassis so they are pretty easy to swap out.

Either way good luck on diagnosing and solving the problem.

 

[mikey383]

That's what you get for laughing about someone else's amp breaking! :mrgreen:

You just need a couple pots replaced. It's not a big deal on a Mesa because they have flying leads to the pots...meaning the pots aren't attached to the PCB and don't require the amp to be disassembled.

Now, if it were a 5150, you would have to disassemble pretty much the entire amp to replace that pot, because they're all PCB mounted.

Simply call Mesa, have them send you the new pots, and plug in your soldering iron. It's much cheaper than a visit to a tech. If you're anywhere around Lima, Ohio, bring it over to my pad and I'll do it for you.

 

[grunge782]

That's what you get for laughing about someone else's amp breaking! :mrgreen:

You just need a couple pots replaced. It's not a big deal on a Mesa because they have flying leads to the pots...meaning the pots aren't attached to the PCB and don't require the amp to be disassembled.

Now, if it were a 5150, you would have to disassemble pretty much the entire amp to replace that pot, because they're all PCB mounted.

Simply call Mesa, have them send you the new pots, and plug in your soldering iron. It's much cheaper than a visit to a tech. If you're anywhere around Lima, Ohio, bring it over to my pad and I'll do it for you.

Thanks! So this sounds like a pot problem to you?

I also saw that there is a bit of rust on the transformers. You wouldn't happen to know much about that would you? I read that it doesn't harm the sound even long term, but this new problem might give me a legitimate reason to give it back for my money. With all these problems, I'm starting to wonder if that is what I should do...

 

[grunge782]

Well, I would like to do that but I'm not sure. Could both the Bass and Treble pot go bad and have the same problem or could it be something wrong with the actual circuit?

Mesa's pots have been known to have these issues on occasion. The volume pot on my old 3 channel Dual Rec's clean channel would cut out/get quieter at a certain spot in the range, and it was very frustrating. Couldn't believe the difference in volume I could achieve after the pot was replaced. Same type of deal with any other type of pot that causes issues at a specific spot in the range (not just the normal tonal shifts one would expect with Mesa's tone stack designs), worth checking into at least.

It's a good problem to have (if you're going to have any at all) because the pots are cheap and wired with flying leads to the chassis so they are pretty easy to swap out.

Either way good luck on diagnosing and solving the problem.

Hmm... Well I noticed that both the Bass and Treble pot are the same exact pot, unlike any others on the amp except for the solo and master volume (which I haven't really cranked beyond 1 oclock lol)

 

[mikey383]

Thanks! So this sounds like a pot problem to you?

I also saw that there is a bit of rust on the transformers. You wouldn't happen to know much about that would you? I read that it doesn't harm the sound even long term, but this new problem might give me a legitimate reason to give it back for my money. With all these problems, I'm starting to wonder if that is what I should do...

Definitely a pot problem. Since you say they're the same pot (I haven't looked at the manual yet, so I can't say for sure) it sounds to me like Mesa may have gotten a bad batch of those pots at one time.

Rust on the transformers isn't a bad thing. In fact, it's beneficial to the amp. Rust adds insulation between the windings and the laminates, which makes it run more efficiently...or so the story goes. If anything, you could just shoot some lacquer over top of the rust, but don't clean it off.

Unless you feel like you paid too much to begin with, I wouldn't worry about it. As long as there aren't any major issues, I would replace the pots and run with it.

 

[jdurso]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

I just got a recto from CL and thought it was all good. The red and orange channel work perfectly thank god. However, when I was testing the clean channel originally and thought there was a crackling noise, but it went away when I plugged in a new cord. Now I know it wasn't because of the cord but because I stopped adjusting it.

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. THEN i messed with the bass and it cuts out right before I max it and there is zero bass.

Are Mesa warranties transferable? If so, who do I talk to/go to?

Who has a Bugera now grunge? :wink:

Seriously though sorry to hear about you're issue but should be a pretty easy fix. Best of luck brother!

 

[clutch71]

Isn't "hating" Karma also tempting fate?

 

[Triple Cheeseburger]

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. ?

the manual does specifically say not to push the treble past 3 oclock.. im not saying this IS the problem, but if its only happening when you push it past the 3 oclock mark it could be contributing

 

[grunge782]

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. ?

the manual does specifically say not to push the treble past 3 oclock.. im not saying this IS the problem, but if its only happening when you push it past the 3 oclock mark it could be contributing

Why would an amp be designed with 3 knobs that could potentially damage the amp?

Anyways, I found out that the master volumes on the orange and red channel don't work, and the output...

 

[grunge782]

So I recently made fun of someone else's Recto amp breaking...not a good idea.

I just got a recto from CL and thought it was all good. The red and orange channel work perfectly thank god. However, when I was testing the clean channel originally and thought there was a crackling noise, but it went away when I plugged in a new cord. Now I know it wasn't because of the cord but because I stopped adjusting it.

Anyways, long story short I was messing around with my clean channel and found that the trebel knob would get crackly around 3 oclock and if I pushed it any further it would jump into being very recessed, like there was no treble. THEN i messed with the bass and it cuts out right before I max it and there is zero bass.

Are Mesa warranties transferable? If so, who do I talk to/go to?

Who has a Bugera now grunge? :wink:

Seriously though sorry to hear about you're issue but should be a pretty easy fix. Best of luck brother!

Thanks, at least it didn't become a fire hazard...yet .